


I waited for you (now finally a chance)

by Charante_Leclerc



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Formula E RPF
Genre: Forced coming out, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:11:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23933698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charante_Leclerc/pseuds/Charante_Leclerc
Summary: A tabloid broke the story that Dan wasn't completely straight, but maybe something good would come from it after all...
Relationships: André Lotterer/Jean-Eric Vergne, Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Comments: 5
Kudos: 101
Collections: F1 Fandom Unity Exchange





	I waited for you (now finally a chance)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [linoleum_ice](https://archiveofourown.org/users/linoleum_ice/gifts).

> Hope you enjoy!

Why they cared about this now he didn’t know. He’d spent over a decade in the sport, and if it had come to light then, he would’ve understood.  _ ‘Daniel Ricciardo isn’t Straight!’ _ . The media would’ve had a field day, it would have followed him for the rest of his career. It’s why he was careful -  _ so damn careful _ \- for his entire career. He wasn’t going to throw his reputation away over a drunken night, or because he just got careless. He’d waited until he’d left the sport, and then he’d waited even more, waiting for the press to get bored of him and leave him alone. He’d done that. He was supposed to be able to live his life now, screw what anyone thought. It just wasn’t fair. 

_ Jev: That guy is hot  _

Dan snorted, sighing as he typed out his reply. He’d ignored pretty much everyone since the story broke, he didn’t want to deal with anyone telling him they’d support him, did this mean he was gay, did he fancy  _ them _ . It was fucking exhausting. At least Jev wasn’t treating him like a pariah all of a sudden. It might have something to do with the fact that he’d had his own sensational coming out story a few years ago, by way of inviting everyone to his wedding that just happened to be to Andre. He hadn’t expected his own invitation to appear through his door one day, and Jev had later said that he hadn’t believed that he would actually send it until, well, he’d sent it. It had taken a while for their friendship to get back to what it had been before, but Dan was thankful for it. It wasn’t that he had a lack of friends, far from it, but Jev had almost grown up with him, they understood each other in a way that couldn’t really be replicated. Such as Jev messaging him now, asking for details, rather than trying to give him sympathy.

_ Dan: Smoking hot. Athletic too ;) _

_ Jev: Yeah yeah, I don’t need to picture you in bed _

_ Dan: Awww you sure _

_ Jev: Fucking sure _

_ Dan: You suck _

_ Jev: No, but I’m sure you did _

_ Dan: :O I’m telling Andre _

His phone fell silent, no doubt Jev trying to find his husband and tell him not to listen to anything he said. Pretty pointless, he was pretty sure Andre didn’t listen to either of them once they’d been talking to each other. Pretty wise, really.

More messages kept pinging up on his phone, from people he barely even knew, and the anger was creeping back up on him again, burning and white hot. His life in upheaval, all because some tabloid had a slow day, or someone couldn’t resist getting a few bucks. It wasn’t  _ fair _ . 

A knock at the door made him jump, stopping his train of thought. Who the hell had bothered to come all the way over at… wow, 11pm? It could just be his drunk neighbour again, wanting the spare key, but that knocking usually came with shouting, and also much later than this. He stood up, slowly making his way to the front door which lay silent. He peeked through the spyhole, his mouth dropping open. “Max?”

“Er… hi?” Max frowned. “Um, could you open the door?”

Dan blushed, opening the door. “Sorry. You caught me by surprise.”

“Are you blushing?” Max grinned, crossing his arms. “Did retirement turn you into one of those historical maidens, and you blush and faint at everything?”

“Fuck off.” Dan laughed, opening the door further. “You coming in or not?”

“As much as I like the corridor…” Max teased, walking into Dan’s apartment. “I saw the news.”

“You and everyone else in the world.” Dan shrugged. “Complete bullshit, I’m retired y’know? Shouldn’t that give me some kind of normalcy?”

Max snorted, flopping down onto the sofa. “Sorry dude, they won’t stop caring about you until you’re grey and saggy, and by that point no-one will want to fuck you.”

“Rude, I’m gonna stay hot forever. Everyone will want to fuck me.” Dan laughed. “But it still kinda sucks. If I wanted to come out, I would’ve done so, my way. And instead those bloodsuckers that call themselves journalists haven’t given me any choice, everyone is assuming shit and I’ve had so much sympathy it’s just ridiculous. No-one’s actually said sorry, this should have been your choice, no, everyone is sorry because they feel guilty that I was forced to hide myself or something.” Dan sighed, picking at a corner of a cushion. “It just fucking sucks.”

Max stayed silent, not quite looking at him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to put that all on you.” Dan apologised, scrubbing at his face with a hand. “You didn’t come here to listen to me whine."

“It’s fine.” Max shrugged. “I just wanted to check you were okay.”

“At eleven at night?” Dan raised an eyebrow. “Come on Max, I know you better than that. What’s this about?”

Max didn’t answer straight away, looking anywhere but Dan. “We’ve been friends a long time haven’t we?”

“Yeah.” Dan frowned. “Dude I’m not gonna lie, you’re starting to scare me a little.”

“How did you know?” Max asked quietly.

“Know what?”

“Know you were gay. Or bi.” Max added, seeing Dan’s face shift a little. 

“I’m not some kind of oracle dude. And I’m not someone to fucking test on either.”

“No!” Max started, before groaning, hiding his face. “I’m doing this wrong.”

Dan just crossed his arms, waiting. Max finally sighed, looking him in the eyes. “I used to have a crush on you, back when I was promoted up to Red Bull. You were older and good-looking, you were confident. You’d just beaten Seb the year before, of course you were confident! And I was just really attracted to you, but I talked myself out of it. You were straight, I thought I was straight apart from you, it wasn’t going to happen. Except now, you’re not straight, and I don’t know… I hoped?” Max shook his head. “I shouldn’t have come, I’m sorry. Forget I ever said anything.”

“You said you had a crush on me.” Dan said conversationally. Max blinked.

“Er, yeah?”

“As in, once did but don’t anymore?”

“Dan… I’m probably always gonna have a crush on you. But it’s fine, we can ignore it. I’ve done pretty well at ignoring it for the past few years.”

Dan grinned. “What if we don’t have to ignore it?”

Max gaped. “Huh?”

Dan jumped over the back of the sofa, standing right in front of Max. “Max Verstappen, I’m going to take you on a date tomorrow. We are going to go out and do date things, and if you’re very lucky I might even invite you back for coffee afterwards.”

“Only if I don’t invite you back first.” Max smirked, looking more like his usual self again. “2pm, don’t be late. And wear a nice shirt.”

“So, one with no holes in?” Dan grinned.

“No nice shirt, no coffee.” Max warned, heading towards the door. “Think about that.”

Dan grinned, watching the door shut behind Max. Maybe there would be something good to come from all of this.

~*~


End file.
